Glen Park Primary School

What our school can offer children with additional needs

What kinds of Special Educational Need are provided for at Glen Park?

We are an inclusive school, aiming to support all children and their individual needs, with high aspirations.The Code of Practice identifies four broad areas of need;• Communication and interaction• Cognition and Learning• Social, mental and emotional health• Sensory and/or physicalAt Glen Park, staff work together to support the development and wellbeing of all of our children, including those with Special Educational Needs.

How does Glen Park support children with Special Educational Needs?

Wherever possible, the teaching and learning environment is tailored to meet the needs of all children. In addition to this, we have a progression of steps in order to support children who have, or may have, SEN. • Quality teaching, differentiated as necessary is a priority for all

children. Most will then make good progress but for those who do not:• Small group support within the class for areas of need or:• Targeted group or individual interventions to support a specific area of

need. Where this is not sufficient:• Specialised support within school from the Learning Mentor or ELSA

(Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) and/or:• Referral to an outside agency for specific assessment, advice or

support.

Who is the person responsible for children with SEN?

Mrs Birnie is our school SENCO. This stands for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. She co-ordinates the provision for our SEN children across the school.

Each class teacher is responsible for the day to day needs of SEN children within their class. The Headteacher has overall responsibility for all pupils.All of the class teachers and Teaching Assistants work in partnership with Mrs Birnie to meet the needs of our SEN children.

How do I contact the people responsible for SEN or arrange to meet them?The first point of contact is the class teacher. He/she can be contacted through our open door policy at the end of the school day or by making an appointment through the school office.Mrs Birnie can be contacted at school. There are 3 ways to contact her:By Telephone: 01752 339073In Writing: Mrs L Birnie Glen Park Primary School Glen Road Plympton Plymouth PL7 2DEBy Email: glen.park.primary.school@Plymouth.gov.uk marked for the attention of Mrs Birnie.Mrs Birnie will then arrange to meet you at a mutually convenienttime. The Headteacher, Mr Hutchings, can also be contacted via the school office.

How does Glen Park assess the progress of pupils and what will the school do if my child is falling behind?

Each class teacher assesses the children continually, as part of their everyday teaching. If they feel that a child is not making expected progress they will try teaching them in different ways to help them to learn. This will then be discussed with the Special Needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at a pupil progress meeting. If more or different support is needed an action plan will be put in place to support the child and help them to make more progress. Sometimes, the school SENCO assesses a child to identify what their particular difficulty is and appropriate targets are set.If necessary, the SENCO will seek advice from other professionals to makemore detailed assessments and to offer advice about the best next steps for a particular child.

How accessible is Glen Park?

Glen Park currently has 373 pupils. All classrooms are housed within one main building, which is on 2 levels. There are steps to access the upper area but a lift is also available at both ends of the school, should disabled access be required.All classrooms can be accessed from the outside via slopes. There are 4 playgrounds, a large field and separate outside play/work spaces for Foundation and Year 1. There is a set of steps to access the Foundation playground from their classrooms but it is possible to reach this via a slope. The remaining playgrounds are reached via slopes. The following slide shows a plan of our school.Further information can be found in our Single Equality Policy within the Key information section of the school website.

Year 3&4 playground

Year 5&6 play-ground

Wild Area

Foundation

playground

FieldYear 1&2

playground

A site plan of Glen Park

Where can I find information about Glen Park’s approach to pupils with SEN?Our school website has lots of information about the school. There is a designated area for SEN, where a copy of our policy can also be found.

Alternatively, you are welcome to contact Mrs Birnie, our schoolSENCO or Mr Hutchings, our Headteacher, who will gladly discuss any issues with you.

What training or specialist expertise do Glen Park staff have around SEN?

• Mrs Birnie has achieved the National SENCO Qualification.• Mrs Tucker (a Higher Level Teaching Assistant) and Mrs

Martin (Teaching Assistant) have also completed the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant course.

• We receive support from a learning mentor who works with individual children within school.

• All of the teachers and teaching assistants have had in service training about a range of different special educational needs. There is also an ongoing professional development programme for staff.

What further external support can Glen Park access and when would this happen?Through working alongside the Plymouth Multi Agency Support Team (MAST), the school has access to support from professionals including:• Educational Psychologist• Speech and Language Therapists• Teachers from the Communication Interaction Team• Specialist teachers supporting children with visual or hearing impairment• Play therapists and counsellors• Family support workersThe school discusses the needs of SEN children with the relevantprofessionals and involves them as necessary. This is individualfor each child.Further information about these professionals can be found inthe directory: hyperlink to Plymouth online directory – link will be within local

offer

Who can I contact to provide additional advice and support for my family?Mrs Cutler is available to support families in our school in her role as Parent Support Advisor. She is able to offer a range of support and impartial advice including:• signposting parents to different organisations that may help them.• listening and talking to parents about their anxieties or difficulties

concerning their child.• Providing support for parents to help them to deal with early signs

of social, emotional, health or behavioural issues

Depending on the issue the class teachers, Head Teacher, Deputy Head and SENCO are also able to offer advice and support.The Plymouth online directory has details of further advice, support and services.

How does Glen Park involve parents and children in their SEN support?

At Glen Park we operate an open door policy and value our strong relationships with parents, recognising the importance of working together to secure the best possible outcomes for all children. We also have regular parents meetings with class teachers, where parents and children can share and review targets, progress and support arrangements.

Where can I find information about the local authority’s local offer for children and young people with SEN and their families?

The Local Authority’s Local Offer can be found atwww.localoffer.plymouth.gov.uk not real website

This contains a directory of services available to parents and children and provides information about SEN support and provision in Plymouth.For any other information about our school and the opportunities we offer, please refer to our website, prospectus or contact the school office on 339073.

The transition process from Glen Park to secondary school

The transition process for SEN children begins in year 5. Parents will be involved in the process of an enhanced transition.Throughout Year 6, SEN children are provided with a gradual, planned transition process. Those needing it will have this enhanced transition to familiarise themselves with the new setting and staff. In this way, a thorough exchange of information about the child will take place and they will be supported by staff from both Glen Park and the receiving school.

If I am not happy with the provision at Glen Park, how can I share my concerns or make a complaint?We very much hope that you will be happy with the provision for SEN at Glen Park. However, if you are not happy with the provision in place for your child, there are several ways to resolve this:1. Talk to the class teacher2. Talk to the SENCO3. Talk to the Head teacher/Deputy Head4. Plymouth Parent Partnership offer impartial support and

advice.